Unfortunate Transformations
by jhvh777
Summary: When a spell goes wrong, Tommy ends up stuck as a kitten for a week. And he is not happy about that fact.
1. Unfortunate Transformations

Tommy growled as he ran through the dirty streets. Curse his luck, getting separated from everyone just in time to be hit with a spell that knocked him out. And of course no one came to look for him, oh no. They just left him sprawled in the alley. And it was raining. He huffed, shaking his head to disperse the rain as it dripped into his eyes.

"Where the hell are you?" he asked no one in particular.

He turned another corner, stopping short as a bus sped past. He hissed as a puddle soaked him. "Oh, yeah, 'cause I wasn't wet enough before." He ducked back into the alley way as another car sped down the street.

"TOMMY? TOMMY WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Tommy growled as he heard Billy's voice from down the street.

"Calm down Billy. I'm sure he's fine." Oh yeah, Eli, he was just fine. Just peachy. He knocked over a trash can, causing a huge racket. That oughtta send 'em running.

"What was that? Eli, did you hear that?" Tommy heard Billy touch down up the block, footsteps rushing to the mouth of the alley. He hid himself on the top of a convenient pile of boxes as Billy came closer.

"It was probably just a stray cat or something. Come on, last I saw him he was back at the battlefield." Eli walked up behind Billy, sighing as his com beeped. Wait for it, wait for it, adjust your position for maximum spring, "No Kate, we haven't found him. Billy's too busy searching for stray kittens or sometAUGH WHAT THE HELL?" Tommy launched himself at Eli as he complained, small claws latching onto his shoulder, teeth biting into the uniform, tail twitching in aggravation as his ears laid flat against his head. A small growl tore from his throat as Eli pulled him off. He dangled above the ground, back paws kicking as he tried to pull himself up to bite the hand that was holding him. "I think we found him, Kate." Billy came up to the green and white kitten, taking him from Eli's grasp.

"Tommy?" he asked as the kitten latched onto his hand, biting at the glove. He growled again, kicking Billy's arm and was pleased when Billy hissed at the scratches. He wriggled out of Billy's grasp, jumping back on top of the boxes and glaring down at the two. Eli kept up his conversation, ignoring the hacked off kitten as Billy tried to get him down without anyone getting hurt.

"Look, all I'm saying is that there's a kitten who's fur looks like Tommy's suit. Green body, white stripes, orange across his eyes, and has definitely got Tommy's attitude." Tommy hissed and swiped at Eli as Billy started to float to his level.

"Come on, Tommy. Let's get you out of the rain." He glared at Billy as his brother took off his cape. He flipped his tail back and forth a few times before slinking over to Billy. He was immediately engulfed in the red fabric and he had to fight to not wiggle out of it. Billy freed his head as he tried to rub his fur dry.

"Alright we're on our way to the warehouse. Could you pick up some cat food on the way there?" Tommy growled, trying to free a paw to swipe at Eli from the tangled red fabric.

"Calm down, Tommy." Billy landed again. "Eli, maybe we should wait a bit to see what Tommy wants to eat before we get him some cat food or anything." Eli opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by an angry growl.

"Ugh, fine. Don't grab the cat food. The furball can just starve." Tommy sniffed before snuggling back into the warmth of Billy's cape. "This had better be fixed by tomorrow. I don't think I can survive with a homicidal kitten."

_Yeah, well I don't want to live with you either_.

"A week?" Billy asked as Dr. Strange finished his evaluation. Tommy's ears went back at the yell, flinching. "Sorry." Tommy rolled his eyes. "But it's really going to take a week?"

"Yes, it is." Tommy sighed and laid down on the table. And here he was hoping that he would be back to normal once the Sorcerer Supreme showed up. "The spell's going to unravel itself, but it will take time." A hand rubbed one of his ears, and he looked up at Billy before turning to glare at the wall. He didn't pay attention as the adult left, when Billy's hand left his head. He couldn't help but pay attention as he was picked up by Billy, though.

"Alright, thanks for your help. Say thanks, Tommy." A soft meow came from where he was trying to crawl under the crook of Billy's elbow to escape. Billy sat him on the cold floor. He stood still as the temperature change filtered through his brain. Cold wasn't good. Billy was warm. He walked back over to his brother, rubbing against his leg asking to be picked up. "What? You just wanted down."

"Mrow." I made a mistake. "Pru-row." Pick me up. Billy just went back to talking to Dr. Strange. One of Tommy's ears flicked back in annoyance. Well, at least Billy was wearing his cape. He crouched down, adjusting his footing before launching himself at Billy's cape.

"Thanks again for all yo-aup." He fell back as the kitten climbed to his shoulder. "God, Tommy, are you trying to strangle me?" Tommy just nudged his arm, and Billy picked him off with a sigh. "This is going to be the worst week." Tommy just closed his eyes.

This was going to be the best week.

Three days into the week and Tommy had exhausted all of his ideas of what to do for entertainment. Sneaking up to startle people was only fun until they kicked at you as a knee-jerk reaction. Laser pointers were fun for a bit, but even that had lost its novelty. And he had caught his tail like twelve times in the passed half hour. He heard the tv in the main room turn on.

His paws pattered as he ran to the door. Altman. Well, damn, he had hoped it was going to be Kate.

"What do you want, Tommy?" Of course, super hearing. There was no need for Altman to know that he had been caught. He jumped onto the arm rest of the couch beside where the other was sitting, tail lazily flicking. "So, what do you think of this show?" Fish show. Cute. He swatted towards the remote, happy when Altman sat it down beside him. He let out a pleased chirp before pressing the channel button.

They flipped through the entire channel list before settling on a cartoon show. Tommy batted the remote back into Teddy's lap before laying down to watch. He hardly noticed when Teddy's hand came up to rub the back of his neck. He just relaxed more, sprawling across the arm rest as he let his eyes slide shut. He didn't wake up when Teddy moved him to curl up on his lap.

That was how Billy found them an hour later, both sleeping as the muted tv cast a blue light over the dark room.

The heating went out at the warehouse that night, and with everyone gone Tommy had been left to find his own heat. Thankfully Billy was a bit of a slob when it came to picking up his uniform from the floor of the changing room, and he had been able to make a ball of warmth out of his cape and Teddy's scarf thing.

The next morning he was awoken to the team frantically calling his name and the door to the room being pulled open by Teddy. "Found him," he had yelled as he picked up the entire ball of fabric.

Now, they were arguing over who was going to be stuck with taking him home. "My grandma's allergic to cats. Plus, he hates me." Tommy just curled up on Billy's cape, tail thumping as he tried to let it just fall off his back. Was it really any surprise that no one on the team wanted him to go home with them?

"Look, if it's such a big deal why don't you just let him come back with me and Teddy?" Tommy nosed his way under the fold, trying to hide.

"How are your parents going to react? Your siblings? I could have sworn you said someone in your family was allergic." Even Kate didn't want him. He huffed as he shivered and curled around the patch where the hand warmer had been placed.

"They'll be fine with it. It's just for three days, then he'll be back to normal. And no, it's my grandma who's allergic. The rest of my family will be fine." The voice got louder as Billy approached, and he was once again treated to the strange sensation of flying as he and the cape were picked up. "Come on, Teddy. I'm just going to teleport home because he's cold enough already." A hand came to scratch him behind his ears. "Of course it goes out on the night it gets way below freezing." Tommy started a small purr at the attention and warmth as he tried to keep his eyes open.

The freezing warehouse faded away to the warm Kaplan house. "I don't understand why Kate said we couldn't just bring him here in the first place." Billy was livid as he was curled under his chin. But at least his hands were light as they petted him, rubbing warmth back into his body.

"If the heater hadn't died then he would have been fine. And we're trying to keep the fact that he's a cat under wraps, remember?" Tommy bumped Billy's chin with his head, and Billy sighed before collapsing next to Teddy on the couch. A finger touched his nose, and while he would normally pull away, the warmth seemed to be spreading faster.

"He's still too cold, Teddy. His nose feels like an ice cube, ears too." A larger finger replaced Billy's.

"Yeah," Teddy said as he scooted over to leave a small space between them. "Put him there. He can get warm while we watch tv." He shivered as he was pulled from the cape and placed between the two and covered again. He gave Billy's hand an affectionate nip before laying down to stare at the coffee table. A large, warm hand covered his back and he started to purr again.

He fell asleep to the soft strokes of their hands, fully aware that he was safe.

When he awoke again he found himself in a strange position. Teddy and Billy were laying on the couch, on each other, and he was curled up under Billy's arm. He squirmed, trying to escape, huffing when he was only held tighter. A thumb was brushing over his head, ears getting warmth rubbed back into them.

"You feeling better Tommy?" Teddy whispered as he noticed the kitten awakening. Tommy flipped his head up to nip at Teddy's finger. "I'll take that as a yes." Billy laughed as he ruffled his fur.

"I'm glad you're warmer," he said before falling back asleep.

Billy's family had been surprisingly accommodating. Once they found out that the strange green kitten was actually him they had treated him nicely. Not to say that they hadn't before, but there had been that brief moment of fear that he was going to have to eat dry cat food instead of the tuna cans he had been eating. Now he got a bit of the dinner meat, and as long as he behaved and didn't jump up he could sit at the table.

So the night before the spell was supposed to finish he found himself getting picked up and carried to Billy's room. Teddy had taken his bed across the room. He jumped out of Billy's arms to curl up on the foot of his bed, biting Teddy's feet as they displaced him.

"Dagh, knock that off," he said as he pulled his feet back up. Tommy just circled his spot and laid down, tail over his eyes. "Yeah yeah, real innocent." He gave Teddy the cutest look he had been working on, hissing as he was knocked off the edge of the bed. At least he took most of the covers with him. Tail flicking at Teddy, he ran across the room, jumping on the edge of Billy's bed. He curled up on one of Billy's feet, snuggling down into the warmth. "Billy."

"Yeah?"

"I think your brother's trying to steal you away from me."

"He's a kitten."

"Exactly. He has the potential to be way too cute. He's already stolen your foot away from me."

"As soon as I move he's going to attack my foot because that's what kittens do."

"He's trying to-" Tommy let out a loud mrow, biting the comforter to try and get them to shut up.

"Augh, stop that." Tommy flopped to the bed as Billy pulled his foot away, and glared up at his brother. "Fine, we'll be quiet now. G'night T." He let out a breath as the light went out. "G'night terror." Tommy's paw lashed out, catching the fabric above his other foot. "I can't wait for you to be human again."


	2. Cute Little Furball

It was too easy to get attention as a kitten, especially with the girls. Just a little purrup, a rub against their leg, and then roll over to let them rub your belly. They melt at that every time. And just his luck, Kate had stopped by. He pulled himself up on the couch beside her.

"Hello Tommy, how're you today?" A mew before he jumped in her lap. Curling up, he started to purr. Her hand ran through his fur, rubbing his ears. "Have you been bothering people?"

A snort before he rolled onto his back. Really, look at this face. How could _he_ be annoying? He was too precious.

"I'll take your innocent look as a yes." He grabbed her hand, nipping it before licking the bite. "You've been annoying Eli, haven't you?" She put her book down as Tommy looked up at her. He nipped another finger, looking at her with big eyes. A small laugh from her before she picked him up to hold him against her shoulder. The purring got louder. "What did you do to him?" He leaned back into her arms, laying on his back.

Pet me. I'm cute.

She rolled her eyes, hand moving to rub his fur on his chest. He grabbed her hand, pulling it close and rubbing against her hand. "Really, what did you do?"

"He managed to pull all of the towels out of the restroom while I was in the shower." Eli was standing behind the couch, glaring at the poor, innocent kitten. "I had pull one out of the dirty clothes hamper." Tommy just mewed, paws curling around Kate's hand.

"You sure it was Tommy? You could have just forgotten your towel." Eli stared. "I'm _kidding_." She picked Tommy up until they were face to face. "But he's sorry, isn't he?" She held up him to look at Eli. He mewed as innocently as he could.

"Really? Because I don't think he's sorry." Tommy swiped at him, hissing. "See, he's a little devil." Kate pulled him back into her arms.

"He was trying to apologize. You didn't have to be mean." He meowed in agreement, rubbing against Kate's face. "If you're nice to him, he'll be nice back."

"Whatever. He's obviously got you brain washed." Eli turned to leave.

"Eli, calm down." Tommy blinked as he was sat down on the couch. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad." His tail flicked as she followed him out of the room. Well, there goes his entertainment. Moving to the side of the couch, he pulled the remote out from between the seats. Might as well watch tv.


	3. Dinnertime

Summary: Kittens are horrible beggars. Just ask Eli.

One of the best parts of being a kitten was that his sense of smell was amazing. Hearing too, for that matter. So, naturally, he found out almost immediately when someone was trying to cook or even reheat something.

Tommy leapt down from his spot on the couch to see who was cooking. The answer to that would determine how he was going to beg.

Not if, _how_.

He peeked his head around the corner, smiling and ears going back a bit as he saw Eli standing beside the microwave, an empty can of soup beside him.

Perfect.

Tommy dashed across the room, launching himself onto the counter. Eli jumped as a kitten landed right in front of him. "Holy shit! Tommy, what the hell? Get down from there."

He blinked as he found himself back on the floor.

Ears falling back, he jumped again. This time he didn't wait, just nosed the can over, licking some of the soup before he was once again deposited on the floor. "You're not allowed on the counter. Go bother Billy if you want to be fed. He's the one with the tuna, remember?"

Well, Mr. Know-it-all, maybe he didn't want tuna again.

The microwaved dinged and Eli pushed him out of the way as he moved his soup over to the table. Steak soup by the smell of it. Eli grabbed his spoon and sat down. He glared down at the innocent kitten on the floor. "You're not getting my soup, Tommy."

Tommy just tilted his head. "Prruup?"

"No." He turned to his soup, taking his first sip.

Now it was time to strike.

Tommy ran over to Eli, jumping on his lap, holding on with his claws. "Aaaaugh, damn it," the spoon fell to the table, soup spilling. Tommy leapt up, quickly licking the soup up. Eli grabbed him around the waist, throwing him onto the floor.

"Stay back over there, Tommy."

Tommy licked his paw.

"This is my soup. Go bother someone else." He glared at Tommy as he took another sip of his soup. After a few spoonfuls he stopped his watch of Tommy.

The next spoonful had Tommy back in Eli's lap, the kitten having climbed up his pant leg.

"Daaugh, stop that." Eli threw him back across the room before he was able to get more soup. But Tommy was not one to be deterred. He heard someone coming down the hall, and smirked.

He knew how he was going to get the soup.

He ran, jumped, and clawed his way into Eli's lap, landing onto the table. "Knock it off!" Eli yelled, picking him up and tossing him out the room.

Only through some clever twisting was he able to avoid hitting Kate in the face. "Tommy?" He picked himself up slowly, playing a small hurt paw. Kate sat down beside him, picking him up as gently as she could. "Eli? What the hell are you doing?" She stormed into the kitchen, glaring at him.

"He's been trying to eat my food. He's clawed me up." Tommy let out a small mew.

"He's just a kitten. Why didn't you just give him a small bowl of it? He needs to eat so he doesn't get sick."

"What? You're taking the little monster's side?" Tommy gave her hand a small lick. She ran a hand across his head.

"Yes, I am taking Tommy's side. He didn't throw you into another room. But if you don't want to share that's fine." She walked out the door, carrying Tommy with her. "I'll get you some soup from my favorite restaurant. Let me pull up their menu and you can tell me what you want."

Eli ran to the door. "Wait, you're ordering out for a monster kitten?" He was flabbergasted.

"Yes, now get back to your soup." Tommy purred as Kate pulled him up to her shoulder, sticking his tongue out at the other.

Victory.


	4. Nip it in the Bud

"Teddy, did you grab the bag?" Eli asked as he opened the door to the warehouse, Teddy close on his heels.

"Yeah, I got the shopping bag. What's in here? It's really light." He missed the smirk on Eli's face as they entered the main room. Eli grabbed the bag, pulling out a small baggie filled with some small dried green flakes. "Woah, woah, what is that?" Tommy came running towards the noise, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Catnip." Eli opened the bag, throwing the small baggie on the floor. Immediately Tommy pounced on the bag, plastic crinkling under his paws. Eli grabbed a hold of Teddy's arm, keeping him from pulling the baggie away from Tommy.

"Dude, you can't give him catnip. Do you know what Billy will do to me when he finds out?"

"Teddy, chill. Tommy's just going to chill out. Besides, this is payback for how he's been acting around Kate." The plastic bag ripped, catnip spilling all over the floor seconds before Tommy was rolling around in it. Teddy stood there, gaping as the tiny kitten licked some of the dried plant. "Besides, Billy isn't going to find out. He and Kate are out getting 'kitten supplies' or something. He'll be fine by the time they get back." Tommy mrewed, purring as he staggered over to Teddy before laying down on his foot. He quickly picked up the kitten before Eli could. That smile on his face was starting to worry him. "Okay, hold him still. I have some temporary dye."

"Woah, no. Absolutely no way are you dying Tommy." The kitten purred, grabbing Teddy's hand and rubbing against it as Eli pulled out the packets of red and purple dye. He shrugged off Eli's glare. "No, Billy's going to kill me enough as is. I thought your point was to get back at Tommy without getting Kate and Billy angry at us." He removed the kitten from his hand, using it to keep Eli back.  
>"It's just a harmless prank. Come on, man." He moved back, keeping himself between Eli and the limp, purring kitten. "The point is to teach Tommy that he doesn't have free reign of the warehouse." His phone buzzed in his pocket as Tommy flipped himself over, paws batting at the air.<p>

"Dude, I'm dead enough already." Eli tried to jump around him, but he quickly shifted and flew out of his reach.

"That is not fair, get back down here." Maybe if he just ignored Eli he'd be able to convince Billy he had nothing to do with this. Tommy prupped, grabbing a hold of one of Teddy's claws as he landed in the rafters. "Seriously, get back down here." He just rolled his eyes, carefully taking his hand back to pull out his phone. He paled at the message.

"You're dead, dude." Eli stopped yelling.

"What?" Teddy tossed his phone down.

"They're on their way back now." Tommy batted at his hair, the warehouse dead silent.

"We're back!" Billy yelled as Teddy flew out of Eli's reach. The looked out of the door to the main room, then back to Eli on the ground. "Teddy? Eli? Where are you?" Tommy rolled, trying to get to the floor far below him.

"No, no Tommy. Stay here. Calm yourself, cat, calm yourself." Tommy mewed, reaching for the floor. Eli stared at the door, trying to act normal. Kate and Billy entered the room, looking around, quickly noticing Tommy halfway hanging out of Teddy's arms.

"What are you doing up there?" Billy asked as he looked up. "Put him on the floor before he jumps and hurts himself." Teddy sighed, landing to place the high kitten down. Tommy staggered over to Kate, rolling over, purring. He was dead, he was deader than dead. Tommy was obviously still out of it, pupils blown wide as he begged for attention. "What did you do?" He held his hands up in surrender, shifting back.

"_I_ didn't do anything. _Eli_ gave him catnip and then tried to dye him. _I _kept him from getting dyed." Billy glared at him as Kate plucked Tommy off of the ground. Eli tried to step back out of the room, knocking over a chair. He let out a sigh of relief as the two shifted their glares to Eli.

"Catnip? Damn it Eli _why_ would you do something like that?" Kate asked, petting Tommy's head. "He's just a kitten. We don't know exactly how much of himself he remembers, and you're getting jealous of him. You do know that kittens need a lot of attention or they will run wild? I cannot believe you." She handed the kitten to Billy before marching over to Eli and dragging him out of the room by his ear. Billy scratched behind Tommy's ears, his blue eyes sliding shut.

"I really didn't have anything to do with this." Billy just smiled as he walked over to him. Thankfully Billy didn't hit him or anything, but wrapped him in a hug.

"I know. Thanks for keeping him safe." He smiled as he returned the hug. Tommy let out a mew, batting at Teddy's ears. "You are too silly right now." The front door to the warehouse opened and closed. "Come on, Kate got us all reservations to some fancy restaurant tonight and we need to go get ready."

"Really? Fun stuff." They walked into the main room, Billy putting Tommy down to curl on the couch.

"Let me just put these toys over here and we can get going." Teddy petted the kitten as he picked up his head to watch Billy scatter the toys. It wasn't long before Billy was back taking his hand and leading him out of the warehouse. "Bye Tommy. We'll see you tomorrow." He scratched behind Tommy's ears one last time before he followed Billy to the street.

That night the power went out.


	5. Kitten Fits

A week. He was told this was just going to last a week. "Tommy, please get out from under the dresser." He swiped at the hand, smiling to himself as Billy yanked his hand back. "Damn it Tommy, don't scratch me. I'm trying to help." Billy glared, trying to meet his eyes as he crawled further under the furniture.

"Billy, just leave him." He growled as Billy looked like he was going to stick his hand under again. "He's not going to come out until he wants to, so we might as well go to dinner with your family and just bring him something back." Teddy laid down, looking under as well. "Don't destroy the house while we're gone or you're not getting any chicken, you hear?" He hissed. "Let's just go. He's fine." Growling, he watched as the two picked themselves up, brushed their pants off and left. His ears drooped as he was left alone.

They shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. The Sorcerer Supreme should have just told him that he had no idea when he was going to get back. They shouldn't have lied to him. Really, it was just cruel. He had proved that he knew what was going on, he remembered who he was. They didn't have to treat him like a kitten. Whatever, screw them. He crawled out, running to his and Billy's room. They think he acts like a kitten? Fine. He can act like a kitten.

Tommy sat on the edge of the bed, surveying his damage. The drawers were all on the floor, clothes scattered. The bookshelf was halfway empty, the books layering themselves at the base. All of the dirty clothes were out of the hamper, piled into a nice place to nap. The absolute best part was the bathroom. He now knew why cats were always unraveling the toilet paper rolls. It was fun.

The downstairs door opened. Oh, crap. He didn't particularly want to get caught at the scene of the crime. He bolted from the room, sliding around the corner and down the stairs.

He froze at the sight of the two men in masks.

"Aww, look Mark, they've got a little kitten. And it's dyed too." One of the guys got down on a knee, holding his hand out.

"Lance, we're not here to play with the cat. Just grab the stereo and get the jewels while I look for important papers." Tommy's ears went back at their confession.

"But it's just a little kitten." The guy stood up, trying to walk passed him. He let out a growl. "Aww, don't worry kitty. As long as you stay out of our way you'll be fine. You think he'd stay in the kitchen if we just put out some meat or something?" The other guy glanced down, reaching out to grab him.

"I don't care, as long as you keep him out of our way." He backed up, growling louder as the hand got closer. And to think, he'd already have this finished dealing with these idiots if he were human again. He swiped, cutting deep as the man touched him. "Augh, damnit. Fucking cat." Blood dripped to the floor as the guy kicked out. He jumped to the side, hissing at the foot.

"You've gotta be nice to kittens, Mark." The first guy reached out again, pulling back as Tommy buried his claws in the guy's hand, screaming. He tried to rip his claws out, paw stuck in the hand, the man's other hand closing in to grab the scruff of his neck. "Damn, goddamn that hurt." He hissed, swiping at the guy's face. "What the hell kitty?"

"Give it here." The moment 'Mark' grabbed him he was shaken before he was thrown against the wall. He hit hard, sliding down the wall. "Scram cat." He shook his head, clearing it.

"Damn, that cat scratches deep." Mark looked at the claw marks on his hand, glaring across the room. Two can play at that game.

He charged, biting into Mark's leg, claws dug in deep as he shook his head. He climbed up the guy's leg to avoid a hand, scratching deep. His claws ripped out of the pants, landing on the floor only to go flying across the room as Lance kicked him. "Stay down." He glared, hissing as he tried to pick himself up again.

"Fuck, I'm going to find the first aid kit. You make sure that cat doesn't keep bothering us. We're losing time." No, he wasn't going to let them rob Billy's family, not while he was here. He ran, paws getting caught up under him as he pounced. He mewed in pain as he caught another boot to the ribs. Lance grabbed his bag before leaving the room. Picking himself up, he followed them out of the room.

He was still a damn hero, kitten or no.

"We're home!" Billy called as he opened the front door. "Tommy? I've got your dinner here. Where a-" He paused in the foyer, taking in the damage.

"Billy?" he turned as Teddy came up behind him, looking into the room. "Oh no, Tommy couldn't have done this." He grabbed his brothers as they tried to run into the house.

"No, go tell mom and dad that there's been a break in. Teddy and I are going to check it out now," he said as he handed them the bag of leftovers. "Go sit in the car until we say it's safe." They ran back as he followed Teddy into the house.

"I'll check the downstairs, you get upstairs." He nodded before sprinting up the stairs as Teddy disappeared into the kitchen. He called for his magic, preparing to defend himself if the robbers were still there.

"Tommy?" he whispered, peaking into his room. The mess was everywhere, it looked like someone tossed his room, books and clothes everywhere, but there wasn't anyone there. He moved to the twin's room. That one was barely touched, just a few drawers thrown around. The rest of the rooms were empty and only lightly turned.

"BILLY, GET DOWN HERE." Turning on his heel, he left the guest room, sliding down the stairs. "I'm in your parent's room." He slid around the corner, coming to a stop beside Teddy. "He's in bad shape."

Tommy was curled on his side, tail broken as he fought for breath. He barely moved. The tiny body purred as Teddy pet his head. The blonde looked up, a worried look on his face as Billy kneeled down and placed his hands over Tommy's side. "_IwantTommytoheal, IwantTommytoheal, IwantTommytoheal_," the magic flowed out of his hands, blue rushing over the tiny form. A few minutes later and the kitten started to pick himself up. He quickly gathered the kitten into his arms, keeping the spell going.

"There was a fair amount of blood in the living room, and his paws are stained in it." Teddy ran his fingers through his fur, hearing the purring get stronger. "Looks like he took a chunk out of whoever it was who broke in." He pulled Tommy up higher, curling him under his chin.

"Come on, we need to call the police. And get him to a vet to make sure he's okay." Teddy wrapped an arm around them, leading them out into the night.

"Prrow?" He felt Tommy squirm in his arms.

"Shh, you're fine. Just rest. You did a good job." Tommy stilled, laying limp in his arm as they left the house. His parents ran up to them, frantic, and he moved quickly to calm them down. "There's no one in the house, but we need to call the police. And we need to find a vet or something for Tommy." The small body in his arms tried to squirm out again. Mr. Kaplan nodded, pulling out his phone as his wife stared at the house. Teddy wrapped an arm around him and they walked back to the car. He sat down in his seat as his little brothers crowded around, poking at Tommy.

"Ease up you two. He just needs to rest." The kitten looked up, prupping a question at Teddy. He ran his hand over Tommy's head as Teddy pulled out the chicken giving Tommy a small piece. "Yes, you did a great job Tommy. Now just rest and eat. You're going to be okay."


	6. When Wrapping Goes Awry

"So who's birthday was it again?" Rustling came through the open door. Tommy growled, tail flicking as he tried to ignore the two making a huge racket without a thought about anyone else who might be trying to sleep in the other room. Just chatting and laughing and crinkling paper.

"Uncle Robert. Dad's brother." Maybe if he buried his head under the pillows in the couch he could drown them out. "And since my brothers have their violin lessons today _we_ get to wrap _all_ of the presents." A chuckle came out of the room, then a loud rip followed by a swear.

"I take it this happens often." They just wouldn't shut up. _Why_ wouldn't they shut up? It was three in the afternoon. Nap time. Growling, he stood up and trotted to the other room.

"Only every year." A quick peak into the room revealed the two love birds sitting in the middle of a pile of wrapping paper, ribbons, and tape. Four large presents were sitting in the middle of the table, nicely wrapped. "Because no one else can be bothered to. Oh, hi Tommy. Did we wake you up?"

The hell do you think? Slinking into the room, he leapt onto the table. And Altman had the gall to smile at him. Really? _He_ was the loud one. "Sorry Tommy. You want us to be quieter so you can sleep some?" He rolled his eyes as he walked over, taking extra special care to step on each and every scrap of wrapping paper in his path, emphasizing the noise it made.

"So you don't want to sleep anymore?" An ear flicked. Of course he wanted to sleep, but until these two left he wasn't going to be able to. A piece of ribbon waved in front of his face.

"Maybe he just needs to wear himself out." Teddy waved the ribbon again. "Come on, I know you want to play with the string Tommy. Don't fight it, embrace it." He twitched. "Go on, get the stringy thingy." Fine, he can get the damn stringy thingy. With a growl he leapt, claws sinking into Altman's hand as he pulled the ribbon from his grasp. Yeah, who has the ribbon now, huh? And don't yell. The claws don't hurt _that_ much and you sound like a girl you whimp.

"Tommy." He turned, ripping the ribbon at Billy's warning tone. "There's no need for that. Apologize." He just pounced on the wrapping paper instead, rolling underneath to look out cutely. "That's not going to work." Pfft, cute eyes always work. Billy didn't know what he was talking about.

"It's already healed, B." And he had been asking for it. "And he might as well help us clean up while he's here." Something rustled behind him. He twisted, wrapping paper flying across the table as he pounced on the offender. Honestly, when would his tail learn to not do things like that.

"Wha-No! Tommy, get off the table before you make a huge mess." Billy reached for him, but, as usual, he was too slow. Kicking up the wrapping paper he shot across the table, dodging presents and landing in a chair. "Tommy. Get back here and help clean up your mess." _His_ mess? As if. This was totally their mess.

Teddy stood, making his way down the table. He leapt back onto the table, running and sliding into the paper. He buried himself under it, waiting for his next victim. Someone, if he had to venture a guess he'd say Billy, tried to catch him, but only caught his teeth in their hand. More paper ripped as the toy, er, hand was taken away. "Tommy," Billy all but growled as another hand tried to move some of the paper away. Didn't they know kitten math?

Moving + noise = fair game.

He pounced again, missing the hand but catching more paper. His tail flicked behind him, scattering the remnants everywhere. "Tommy, no. You're making a huge mess. Please stop." Whine all you want Billy, nothing was going to change. You should have thought about that before you made the racket. A finger teased right in front of the opening on the table. A paw shot out, claws smacking the wood. Another finger scratched a bit further away. The paw moved. "Stop encouraging him, Teddy."

"Fine, fine." He pulled his paws back under the paper, waiting for his next chance to strike. Seriously, this was a great hiding place. It makes noise, makes a mess, pisses off the lovebirds who woke him up, and has the possibility for so many fun new games like "bite whatever just touched me" and "claw the thing that's moving over there." Not to mention that he was the most adorable fucking kitten in the history of kittens while he did this.

A loud bang sounded behind him, and without a second thought he took off like a shot. The fuck was that? He used the presents as a springboard to launch himself out of the room, hitting the rug and zooming down the hall. His tail fluffed up without his consent as he slid to a stop under his bed. "Maybe you'll think twice about making a mess next time, huh?" Billy called out after him. "Come on, T. Let's get this cleaned up before mom and dad get home." He huffed, hissing at the door as he curled up and the two started to make their racket again.

"I'm surprised he cleared that chair. I thought for sure he was going to miss and knock it over." He crawled out from under the bed, bushy tail sweeping in annoyance as he nosed the door shut. With any luck he could get to sleep soon, no thanks to the two fuckers outside. And he might as well mess up the room while they were gone. Nothing like a little payback for waking him up and trying to scare him half to death without provocation. He had been playing, and Billy had tried to give him a heart attack. How rude.


End file.
